Grok images have broken the law, says AI Minister

Images created on the social media platform X break the law, the Minister for Artificial Intelligence has said.

Niamh Smyth said she has not heard back from the company after requesting a meeting.

Ms Smyth was speaking after it was reported that users of the social media platform were using its AI tool, Grok, to produce naked images of people, including children.

Speaking on RTE Radio’s Today With David McCullagh, she said: “It is clear that within Irish law, child abuse images are absolutely illegal.

“And whether they are real images or computer-generated, which is what we’re talking about here, it is a criminal offence to distribute them on platforms.

“So the law has been, as far as I’m concerned, the law has been broken here in Ireland.”

She said there “absolutely would be” consequences for X if it was found to be breaking the law and said she was looking forward to sitting down with the Taoiseach to “discuss this further”.

The minister said she had written to X on Wednesday, seeking a meeting, but had not heard back.

She said she wanted to reiterate the point “that this is not acceptable in Irish law, it’s not acceptable in European law” and find out what safeguards they have in place and “how those safeguards are monitored and analysed”.

On the possibility of further legislation, Ms Smyth said she was waiting to hear from the Attorney General’s office as she believes the “online safety framework that we have in place” ensures “citizens are protected”.

She said “we are really very much now at a point” where enforcement of those laws is needed.

Ms Smyth said the laws are European laws and, under the Digital Services Act, the European Commission is responsible for large online platforms.

She said she was “confident” Ireland’s independent media body, Coimisiun na Mean, are “engaging with the European Commission to ensure that this is stopped”.

The public could play a role in tackling the issue, Ms Smyth added, saying reporting illegal content is “critically, critically important”.

At the Stripe Young Scientist exhibition at the RDS the Minister for Media said the Government cannot lose sight of its responsibilities when it comes to AI-generated sexual abuse images.

Patrick O’Donovan said: “There is individual responsibility, there’s responsibility for the regulator and there’s responsibility for the state.

“We all can’t absent our responsibilities and as a government, we have no intention of doing that.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mr O’Donovan said technological advancements are happening “far faster than the way in which law can be able to respond”.

He said care needs to be taken that legislation is not amended “in a way that’s going to in any way inhibit” the way existing laws are used in the future.

Asked why government ministers and organisations continue to use X when the platform is potentially producing illegal material, Mr O’Donovan said: “That’s a personal choice for people.

“Every government department will obviously make its own decision with regard to that, but it’s not necessarily the app that’s making the images, it’s people using the app that’s making the images.”

At the same event, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said he did not know whether gardai were investigating Grok.

He said: “That’s dependent upon whether complaints are being made, whether gardai are investigating, it’s a matter for them.”